Friday Night Lite Blog

Sitting here watching a Barbara Walters Special on people who survive open heart surgery. It’s a party at the Dater house on a Friday night. Next up here: a three-hour documentary on manic depression.

I’ve been texting, calling and holding sessions with a psychic all night here, trying to get the word on whether Peter Forsberg has decided “yes” or “no” yet. Alas, I have had as much luck as I always do on the lottery, poker, roulette and every girl I tried to date before the age of 21.

This literally is how I feel about covering Peter Forsberg, trying to get the scoop on him:

I’m just not going to make a hard and fast prediction right now. I hate myself for saying that. I’m the reporter here. I should know already.

I don’t.

If I had to write a book on Peter Forsberg, it would be tentatively titled: “I Was Wrong – A Reporter’s Life Covering Peter Forsberg.”
He’s an amazingly difficult man to read, and I believe I’m a person who can read people and situations well. I think that comes from me being a former timeshare salesman in life. From 1986-88, I had a part-time job from college pitching people right on the street to take a tour of a timeshare resort – The Cove at Yarmouth, in Yarmouth, Mass. – and I learned an amazing amount about people in general with that job. When you have to go up to 200-500 people a day and try to start a selling conversation with them, you get a good grasp of human nature. You start to learn about how to effectively talk to people, about what appeals to a wider, general audience when it comes to interaction, how to think fast with your brain verbally, about how to lie sell about a particular product.

But Forsberg has been a guy who has impressively baffled me. I probably could effectively get more scoops on him, but there is something indelibly Swedish about him that has kept me from being the embarrassingly intrusive American reporter.
I always seem to back off a little bit with him, because of his always-polite, always-dignified, always don’t-go-there air about him. Basically, I feel very Swedish around him. That means that you give him his privacy and you don’t ask really personal questions, and you just live and let live. You are polite with Foppa, you transact your business with him, but you don’t start asking in great detail about his foot or his girlfriend or his childhood or his inner fears or what kind of tree he would describe as himself (a famous Barbara Walters question, to Katherine Hepburn).

A couple of personal stories on Peter Forsberg, from the memory vault:
– I still think back to sitting with him in 1995 in the stands of the Ottawa Civic Center. I’m in my first year covering the Avs, a total greenhorn, and he’s a guy in his 12th month in North America. We’re on a preseason road trip together (the first road trip in the history of the team, and there are a lot of great stories from that trip, not all of them I can repeat here).

I still didn’t know that much about this guy then. Three months before, I was covering mostly prep sports at The Denver Post. Three months later, I’m sitting in an arena in Eastern Canada, talking with a guy who is supposed to be one of the best young players in the NHL.
What am I supposed to say to this guy? What am I doing here?

I asked Forsberg my greenhorn, probing questions, and even at that young age (21), he was a pro at batting away questions. But it’s not like he was/is ever rude about it. And he did talk some about his upbringing, and his close relationship with his brother, Roger. He must have gone on for about five minutes about Roger, telling me how many things he learned from him, about how he really was his best friend in life – and always would be. And, being new to North America by this point in his life and mostly only in Canada, every other word out of his mouth is “eh?”

So in that sense Forsberg was open then. But after all these years as a rock-star hockey player, he is an absolute pro at deflecting questions. As we saw today in his responses to questions, his stock answer to anything too probing is “we’ll see.”

Indeed.

Another favorite Forsberg story of mine, never told publicly:
– I’m in Europe for the first time in my life, Sept. 9, 2001. I’ve just flown to Stockholm, Sweden, from Denver, with my wife. The Avalanche is going to Sweden for training camp, a few months after winning the Stanley Cup, in which Forsberg couldn’t compete because he had lost his spleen after the second round of the playoffs.

It’s going to be a fun week in Sweden. I’ve just gotten married (for the second time), and it’s a kind of second honeymoon, in a foreign country.

Late at night, Stockholm time: we’ve just checked in to the Globen Hotel. I’m on the clock for The Post, and it’s only about 2 p.m. Denver time, when suddenly I see the unmistakable figure of Peter Forsberg walking through the doors of the hotel. He’s with a friend.

Forsberg sees me and walks right over, shaking my hand and says “Welcome to Sweden.” He greets my wife with gentlemanly cordiality, gives me a few words that will make for a good exclusive story for the next day’s paper – when there were still two newspapers in Denver, so this was a big deal to me -and then walks off to some unknown portion of the hotel.

Four days later (after a pretty big and pretty awful occurrence happened in the homeland) Forsberg says he won’t play for the foreseeable future, because of a foot problem. Honestly, I don’t know what has shocked me more in the previous 48 hours.

So it with that memory that I bring you the latest situation, coming up on 10 years later.

You never know with this guy. Anything can happen. But whatever does happen, you know Peter Forsberg is a good guy. And despite all the torturous stuff he’s put me through as a reporter, I can’t help but like the guy.

Always a pleasure to have constant blogs to read about the Avs, and of course Forsberg. Thanks Dater.

Guest

Always a pleasure to have constant blogs to read about the Avs, and of course Forsberg. Thanks Dater.

What A Rip Off

Good stories.

I’m with the crowd that thinks this deal with put some butts in the seats (really all that the Kroenke’s want anyway) to keep the lights on at PC. Stan & Son could honestly care less if Forsberg helps the team win. They want to sell jerseys, $7 hot dogs, and $9 beers, to go along with $65 seats.

That’s all that’s important.

Meanwhile, all the team that were not so long ago behind the Avs in the standings have kicked it into high gear and zoomed right past the woeful Avalanche.

It’s sad when selling beer and dogs outweighs putting a quality product on the ice.

TMO42

This is a business, so ya, Kronk wants to sell more crap. Who knows if rich guy cares about winning or not, but to say they don’t have a quality product on the ice is not fair or accurate.

The boys are struugglllinngg and its hard to watch, but they will turn it around at some point.

The boys are struggling; however, there is no consistency in their line-up. Besides Hannan and Quincy, we lost Clark and Yelle too. This team lacks experience. The sad part is everyone is looking for Anderson to bail this team out, but seriously how many mistakes can this team make day and and day out. Instead of flip flopping Anderson and Budaj making it out be the goalies fault, start looking at the real problem.

What A Rip Off

Good stories.

I’m with the crowd that thinks this deal with put some butts in the seats (really all that the Kroenke’s want anyway) to keep the lights on at PC. Stan & Son could honestly care less if Forsberg helps the team win. They want to sell jerseys, $7 hot dogs, and $9 beers, to go along with $65 seats.

That’s all that’s important.

Meanwhile, all the team that were not so long ago behind the Avs in the standings have kicked it into high gear and zoomed right past the woeful Avalanche.

It’s sad when selling beer and dogs outweighs putting a quality product on the ice.

TMO42

This is a business, so ya, Kronk wants to sell more crap. Who knows if rich guy cares about winning or not, but to say they don’t have a quality product on the ice is not fair or accurate.

The boys are struugglllinngg and its hard to watch, but they will turn it around at some point.

The boys are struggling; however, there is no consistency in their line-up. Besides Hannan and Quincy, we lost Clark and Yelle too. This team lacks experience. The sad part is everyone is looking for Anderson to bail this team out, but seriously how many mistakes can this team make day and and day out. Instead of flip flopping Anderson and Budaj making it out be the goalies fault, start looking at the real problem.

Sfchatmme

Some things never change, and Peter is still “Peter” after all this time… and we are still “awestruck” by him…and handing on every word! I wish him the best of luck in any decision he makes! :0) LG/SF

Sfchatmme

Some things never change, and Peter is still “Peter” after all this time… and we are still “awestruck” by him…and handing on every word! I wish him the best of luck in any decision he makes! :0) LG/SF

Anonymous

Appreciate the story. Love reading stories like this about the Avs.

Anonymous

Appreciate the story. Love reading stories like this about the Avs.

Hzpeter

Always fun and interesting to read your writings about Forsberg and avs. He is and always will be the greatest. im coming over (from Sweden) to see him when (not if) he signs.

Hzpeter

Always fun and interesting to read your writings about Forsberg and avs. He is and always will be the greatest. im coming over (from Sweden) to see him when (not if) he signs.

Snowrider67

Forsberg will always be younger than me. And, honestly, there wasn’t much story in these stories.

Guest

Thank you, having read all the posts above I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one trying to figure out what stories people were talking about!!!

Snowrider67

Forsberg will always be younger than me. And, honestly, there wasn’t much story in these stories.

Guest

Thank you, having read all the posts above I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one trying to figure out what stories people were talking about!!!

Crontorp

Gunnar Nordström, Swedish journalist and NHL expert believes the chances for an NHL comeback is 80%…

90mph

Swedish journalist and NHL expert doesn’t sound proper in the same sentence.

SkiCopperMtn

I guess it wouldn’t be Dater’s blog without some kind of backhanded, snide comment from 90mph, would it. Man, you have some issues.

90mph

Just tellin’ it like it is.

Can’t trust these Swedish rumors. Within 2 hours it went from ‘No Comeback’ to ‘Contract Signed’.

Grow up.

Crontorp

Gunnar Nordström, Swedish journalist and NHL expert believes the chances for an NHL comeback is 80%…

SkiCopperMtn

I guess it wouldn’t be Dater’s blog without some kind of backhanded, snide comment from 90mph, would it. Man, you have some issues.

90mph

Just tellin’ it like it is.

Can’t trust these Swedish rumors. Within 2 hours it went from ‘No Comeback’ to ‘Contract Signed’.

Grow up.

Stream

Peter Forsberg is your “White Whale”, Adrian. Instead of trying to exploit him, appreciate him. Maybe, someday, he will trust in you to write his story. And I promise you that what he wants to tell you will far outweigh anything you try to extract from him. The man, Peter Forsberg, is far more interesting than his goofy foot or when/if he will play NHL hockey again.

Stream

Peter Forsberg is your “White Whale”, Adrian. Instead of trying to exploit him, appreciate him. Maybe, someday, he will trust in you to write his story. And I promise you that what he wants to tell you will far outweigh anything you try to extract from him. The man, Peter Forsberg, is far more interesting than his goofy foot or when/if he will play NHL hockey again.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.